Ascendant Graham Platner Can't Quite Shake Controversy

"War with Iran is the only thing republicans and democrats have both given a standing ovation for. Let that sink in. As always, there's one thing that brings Republican and Democratic politicians together: sending other people's children to die in stupid wars in the Middle East."

"Jewish Insider reported on Thursday that Platner shared a social-media post from Stew Peters, a far-right conspiracy theorist with a history of espousing racist and antisemitic beliefs including the promotion of Holocaust denial."

"We were reposting a C-Span clip of Trump speaking about the potential war with Iran and didn't realize that the video had been posted by a despicable account. When we learned who the poster was we immediately deleted the post."

Graham Platner, a military veteran and oyster farmer running as a Democrat to challenge Republican Senator Susan Collins, had been leading in primary polls against Governor Janet Mills. However, his campaign encountered serious setbacks when he shared a social media post from Stew Peters, a far-right conspiracy theorist known for promoting racist and antisemitic content including Holocaust denial. Peters's post criticized bipartisan support for potential military conflict with Iran. Platner added commentary about politicians sending others' children to die in Middle Eastern wars. After the incident was reported by Jewish Insider, Platner's campaign deleted the post and claimed it was shared in error, stating they were reposting a C-Span clip without realizing the source's problematic background.

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